How a customer pays at checkout shapes both conversion and cash flow. Deposit Payment Options let you decide which payment choices appear when someone books a vehicle on your website, and how the remaining balance is handled afterwards.
What this feature is
Deposit Payment Options is a checkout configuration area inside the VEVS Car Rental Software admin. It controls the payment methods offered to customers during online booking, together with the incentives and fees attached to each one. You can let customers pay in full immediately, pay nothing until later, or pay a deposit to secure the vehicle — and you can offer several of these at once so the customer chooses what suits them.
The same page also contains a separate Security Deposit card, which sets the refundable deposit collected per vehicle category at pick-up. The payment options govern the rental charge at checkout; the security deposit governs the refundable amount taken on collection.
Where to access it
In the admin area, open the Fees & Taxes section and choose Deposit and Security. The page is titled DEPOSIT AND SECURITY and is split into two cards: Deposit Payment Options on the left and Security Deposit on the right.
The three payment choices
Each choice is switched on or off with a checkbox. You can enable one, several, or all of them.
| Option | What the customer pays at booking | Optional setting |
|---|---|---|
| Pay in Full Now | 100% of the rental | Offer Pay Now Discount |
| Pay Later | Nothing | Charge Pay Later Fee |
| Pay Deposit | Part of the total | Deposit payment amount |
By default only Pay in Full Now is switched on. A warning appears if you turn off all three, because at least one payment option must stay enabled for customers to complete a booking.
Settings for each choice
Each choice reveals extra settings only when it is turned on, so the page stays short until you need the detail.
Pay in Full Now
Offer Pay Now Discount gives customers a discount for paying everything upfront. When enabled, you set the discount as a fixed Amount or a Percentage. A percentage works well when your rental prices vary widely, because the incentive scales with the booking.
Pay Later
Charge Pay Later Fee adds an extra fee for customers who choose to pay later. When enabled, you set the fee as a fixed Amount or a Percentage. The fee is optional — you can offer pay later with no charge if your priority is conversion rather than immediate payment.
Pay Deposit
Deposit payment amount sets the portion the customer must pay when booking, either as a fixed Amount or a Percentage of the total. When Pay Deposit is enabled, the deposit amount must be greater than zero; you cannot save with it left empty or set to zero. Values entered as a percentage cannot be higher than 100%, and no amount or percentage may be negative.
Balance Payment Timing
If Pay Later or Pay Deposit is enabled, a second section, Balance Payment Timing, becomes visible. It controls when the remaining money must be paid, and both options share the same setting.
- Before Rental Start — the balance is due before the rental begins. You can also set a number of days before the rental start date by which the balance is due; 0 means simply before the rental start.
- At Pick-Up — the balance is due when the customer collects the vehicle. This is the default.
The choice affects what the customer is told at checkout and how your team chases outstanding balances. Requiring payment a few days before pick-up gives you time to act if a card fails, while collecting at pick-up keeps the booking lighter.
What the customer sees
On the booking website, during checkout, the customer sees a How would you like to pay? section listing only the options you enabled, as selectable choices. The first enabled option is pre-selected for them, so the order in which options are enabled effectively sets your default.
- With a Pay Now Discount set, the customer sees the discount amount next to Pay in Full Now.
- With a Pay Later Fee set, the customer sees the fee next to Pay Later.
- For Pay Deposit, the customer sees the required deposit amount.
When the customer chooses Pay Later or Pay Deposit, a note appears underneath explaining when the balance is due — for example, "Remaining balance due at pick-up" or "Remaining balance due 3 days before rental start".
How to configure it
- Open Fees & Taxes → Deposit and Security.
- Turn on the payment choices you want to offer, keeping at least one enabled.
- For each enabled choice, set the optional discount, fee, or deposit amount as needed.
- If you enabled Pay Later or Pay Deposit, choose when the remaining balance is due.
- Click Save at the top of the page.
After saving, the changes apply immediately to future bookings. A confirmation message appears when the settings are saved successfully, and the payment choices with their notes appear to customers at checkout.
The Save button and editing are available only to users with permission to update these settings; everyone else sees the page read-only.
Business benefits
A deposit lowers the commitment a customer needs to make online, which helps convert enquiries that would otherwise be abandoned at the payment step. Pay later removes the payment step entirely for customers who prefer to settle on collection, with an optional fee offsetting some risk. A pay now discount rewards money in the bank before the rental starts.
Because all three choices can run together, you are not forced to pick one policy for every customer. A business that wants strong cash flow can lean on the discount, while one that wants maximum bookings can lead with pay later. The balance timing note then sets expectations at booking rather than leaving staff to explain it later.
Practical use cases
Full payment plus deposit
A common setup is Pay in Full Now plus Pay Deposit, so customers can either pay everything or reserve with a smaller amount.
Book now, settle later
Enable Pay Later for customers who want to book without paying, and consider a Pay Later Fee to offset the risk.
Percentage deposits
A percentage deposit, such as 20%, scales automatically with the rental price instead of being a fixed amount for every booking.
Pre-season cash flow
Requiring the balance several days before rental start gives you time to resolve failed payments before the vehicle is due out.
Setup considerations
Decide your policy before switching options on, because the page affects every future online booking immediately. If you enable a percentage deposit, check the amount it produces on both your cheapest and most expensive vehicles; a percentage that feels reasonable on a long rental may feel trivial on a short one. If you enable a pay now discount and a pay later fee at the same time, read the checkout as a customer would, to confirm the difference between the options is clear.
These settings affect the online booking and checkout flow only. They are separate from the Security Deposit card, which sets the refundable deposit collected per vehicle category at pick-up; changing one does not change the other.
Best practices
- Keep at least one payment option enabled at all times; the warning is there for a reason.
- Check the checkout yourself after any change, on both a short and a long rental.
- Use a percentage deposit when you want the amount to scale with price, and a fixed amount when you want predictability.
- Set a balance deadline that leaves enough time to chase a failed payment.
- Make sure staff know which option is pre-selected, so they can explain it if a customer asks.
- Review the policy at the start of each season rather than leaving it unchanged for years.
Conclusion
Deposit Payment Options give you direct control over the payment choices customers see when they book, and over when the balance is due. With clear incentives, sensible deadlines, and a deposit that fits your price range, the checkout becomes a tool for both conversion and cash flow rather than a single fixed rule.